Exorcist II: The Heretic
Exorcist II: The Heretic is a 1977 horror film. It was the sequel to the classic and cult film The Exorcist, with Linda Blair returning as Regan MacNeil and was directed by John Boorman. The events of the film are considered to be non-canon as William Peter Blatty had nothing to do with the making of the film. After 20th Century Fox released The Omen in 1976, Warner Bros. was in a rush to produce an Exorcist sequel. "Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) - Trivia", IMDb, 1990-2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016. Web. Exorcist II: The Heretic was Warner Bros. doing their own thing, without Blatty's involvement. "The Exorcist III (1990) - Trivia", IMDb, 1990-2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016. Web. Thus, ''Legion''/The Exorcist III ignored the events of Exorcist II: The Heretic and is considered to be the "true" sequel. "The Exorcist III (1990) - FAQ", IMDb, 1990-2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016. Web. Lamble, Ryan. "10 sequels that ignored previous films." Den of Geek, 27 February 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2016. Web. Miska, Brad. "'The Exorcist III' Director's Cut Fulfills Original Film's Promise", Bloody Disgusting, 08 October 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016. Web. Cast *Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil *Louise Fletcher as Dr. Gene Tuskin *Richard Burton as Father Philip Lamont *Max von Sydow as Lankester Merrin *James Earl Jones as Kokumo **Joey Green as Young Kokumo *Kitty Winn as Sharon Spencer *Paul Henreid as The Cardinal *Ned Beatty as Edwards *Rose Portillo as The Healing Girl Plot Following content is taken from Wikipedia Philip Lamont, a priest struggling with his faith, attempts to exorcise a possessed South American girl who claims to "heal the sick". However, the exorcism goes wrong and a lit candle sets fire to the girl's dress, killing her. Afterwards, Lamont is assigned by the Cardinal to investigate the death of Father Lankester Merrin, who had been killed four years prior in the course of exorcising the Assyrian demon Pazuzu from Regan MacNeil. The Cardinal informs Lamont (who has had some experience at exorcism, and has been exposed to Merrin's teachings) that Merrin is up on posthumous heresy charges due to his controversial writings. Apparently, Church authorities are trying to modernize and do not want to acknowledge that Satan actually exists. Regan, although now seemingly normal and staying with guardian Sharon Spencer in New York, N.Y., continues to be monitored at a psychiatric institute by Dr. Gene Tuskin. Regan claims she remembers nothing about her ordeal in Washington, D.C., but Tuskin believes her memories are only repressed. Father Lamont visits the institute but his attempts to question Regan about the circumstances of Father Merrin's death are rebuffed by Dr. Tuskin, who believes that Lamont's approach would do Regan more harm than good. In an attempt to plumb her memories of the exorcism and specifically the circumstances in which Merrin died, Dr. Tuskin hypnotizes the girl, to whom she is linked by a "synchronizer" — a biofeedback device used by two people to synchronize their brainwaves. After a guided tour by Sharon of the Georgetown house where the exorcism took place, Lamont returns to be coupled with Regan by the synchronizer. The priest is spirited to the past by Pazuzu to observe Father Merrin exorcising a young boy, Kokumo, in Africa. Learning that the boy developed special powers to fight Pazuzu, who appears as a swarm of locusts, Lamont journeys to Africa, defying his superior, to seek help from the adult Kokumo. Kokumo has become a scientist, studying how to prevent locust swarms. Lamont learns that Pazuzu attacks people who have psychic healing ability. Regan is able to reach telepathically inside the minds of others; she uses this to help an autistic girl to speak, for instance. Father Merrin, who belonged to a group of theologians that believed psychic powers were a spiritual gift which would one day be shared by all people, thought people like Kokumo and Regan were forerunners of this new type of humanity. In a vision, Merrin asks Lamont to watch over Regan. Lamont and Regan return to the old house in Georgetown. The pair are followed in a taxi by Tuskin and Sharon, who are concerned about Regan's safety. En route, Pazuzu tempts Lamont by offering him unlimited power, appearing as a succubus doppelgänger of Regan. The taxi crashes into the Georgetown house, killing the driver, but his passengers survive and enter the house, where Sharon sets herself on fire. Although Lamont initially succumbs to the succubus, he is brought back by Regan and attacks her doppelgänger while a swarm of locusts deluge the house, which begins to crumble around them. However, Lamont manages to kill the doppelgänger by beating open its chest and pulling out its heart. In the end, Regan banishes the locusts (and Pazuzu) by enacting the same ritual attempted by Kokumo to get rid of locusts in Africa (although he failed and was himself possessed). Outside the house, Sharon dies from her injuries and Tuskin tells Lamont to watch over Regan. Regan and Lamont leave while Tuskin stays to answer police questions. References Category:Films